The Faculty (***) - I admit without hesitation that I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I’ve always said that you have to be a shit director to screw up a Body Snatchers film. And Robert Rodriguez, in my opinion, is no shit director. After all he brought us (along with Quentin Tarantino) one of the best action-filled vampire films ever with From Dusk Till Dawn. Now with another hyped-up writer (Kevin Williamson) he brings us a little more familiar story with some clever commentary if not as juiced as the vampire film.

While I was watching the film - I was so into it as to give it a 3 ½ star rating. I love Body Snatcher films. The 1978 version, after all, made my list of the 100 greatest films ever made. But I digress because as I ponder this latest achievement after leaving the theater, I think of what could have made it better. But first the good stuff. The set-up of these films is always a lot of fun as we get to know the various characters as they discover the threat and exactly what the creatures are. The sly commentary kind of sneaks up on you. Note how much water the creatures need to keep them alive - then think how many people you see on the streets carrying their own personal jug of water. The body snatcher film is also a perfect allegory for high school, at least for my experience of it. All of the different cliques and what not. Not fitting in was a bad thing - the football team reigned supreme, etc. etc. There’s a lot of homage being payed in this film. Everything from every body snatcher films is present, along with nods to John Carpenter’s The Thing as the students begin to mistrust each other and must pass a test to see if any of them are a creature. (They miss a golden opportunity though to quote that film’s most famous line when a teacher’s head runs independently from their body - “You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding.” - I was so hoping for it, but was denied.) A few things about the film did bother me though. Normally I wouldn’t say stuff like this, but if I’m going to give the film credit for social commentary, I have to address a couple other issues. For one - the “test” that is conducted consists of sniffing a caffeine-induced drug up their noses. If they don’t do it - they must be an alien. That was pushing it a little bit for me. Another scene I found a little disturbing is the shooting of the school principal, that we know is an alien, but the kids are not. They shoot her anyway as she pleads for her life. If she was attacking them like earlier with the Jon Stewart character, that would be different. But the scene plays a little suspect with all the recent school shootings and what not. Now I’m feeling old. I also wish the film was a little longer and really pumped up the action, a la Dusk Till Dawn, instead of just introducing the threat and letting it be as is. I wanted to see more of the actual student body and faculty working together to finish their conquest. And what ever happened to the Piper Laurie and Salma Hayek characters?

Regardless I still had a lot of fun watching the film. The Williamson dialogue is as topical as his Scream films and Dawson’s Creek TV show and it’s always a pleasure to hear smart teenagers talk rather than dumb teenagers, especially in horror films. The film doesn’t have too many surprises, at least not for me, but Rodriguez is always able to surprise with how far he’ll go during his action scenes. I just wished he went a little further. I’m still recommending the film as a fun time at the movies despite a few of my late observations. I still enjoyed the film as I watched it. I mean, after all, how can you screw up a Body Snatcher movie.